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Books > Local Author Showcase > Biography
This is the book President Jacob Zuma does not want you to read. From Shaik to ‘The Spear’, award-winning investigative journalist Adriaan Basson reveals the truth behind Jacob Zuma’s presidency of the ANC and South Africa. From one bad decision to another, this explosive, roller-coaster account traces the unravelling of a likeable but deeply flawed leader who came to power as victim, not visionary. Basson forensically unpacks the charges against Zuma and reveals a president whose first priority is to serve and protect his own, rather than the 50 million people he was elected to lead. To be published on the eve of the ANC elective conference in Mangaung, this is essential reading for any South African who cares about the country they live in.
’n Biografie oor Pik Botha, een van Suid-Afrika se kleurrykste figure, en in sy tyd die langsdienende Minister van Buitelandse Sake ter wêreld.
Between 1913 and 1989 some four million South Africans were forcibly removed from their homes to enforce residential segregation along racial lines. This study records and interprets the memories of some of the Capetonians who were relocated as a result of the infamous Group Areas Act. Former resients of Windermere, Tramway Road in Sea Point, District Six, Lower Claremont, and Simon's Town narrate their experiences. The work shows how different - even conflicting - versions of popular memories are historically significant for individuals and communities, and for the professionals and academics who work with them. Most important, it demonstrates how the sharing of oral histories and memories allows people to rebuild a sense of self and community.
When, in the 1990s, Wilhelm Verwoerd openly spoke out against his grandfather's racist policies and joined the ANC, he was ejected from the family. Working in Northern Ireland, making peace between former enemies, he feels the urge to return to his homeland, to make peace with his own family. Between listening to searing stories of friends and neigbours’ suffering under apartheid, he reads Betsie Verwoerd’s intimate private diaries. This moving memoir examines the complexities of having Verwoerd blood in your veins in the full knowledge that Verwoerd has blood on his hands. A nuanced and intimate look at family loyalty, betrayal, and the demands of restitution in South Africa.
Most of the time, the road to riches is a closely guarded secret, until now. Jacana Media presents Mpho Dagada, one such young, self-made millionaire who in his memoir, Mr Bitcoin, shares his story of triumph and failure. He tells his story from the beginning: being brought up by business-minded and accomplished grandparents who planted in him the seeds of what it means to be successful in business. Mpho Dagada’s interest in Bitcoin was ignited when he was in his first year at the University of Johannesburg in 2013 after opening his own laundry and cleaning service company. He invested his profits from this company in Bitcoin. He currently owns a logistics company, a chain of fast food restaurants and is in the process of developing the first black-owned cryptocurrency exchange platform. This book is both motivational and practical, examining the errors and pitfalls that Dagada had to go through in his business pursuits. These included falling for Ponzi schemes like Kipi and losing his money on more than one occasion. Through these many lows were lessons of great value which ultimately led to the endless possibilities that Bitcoin presents for those interested in creating wealth through trading cryptocurrencies and running a successful business. Dagada is confident in the viability of Bitcoin and ascertains that "we will never understand the money of the future without learning how money came about in the first place. Blockchain and Bitcoin are now pioneering a new online financial world. Cryptocurrencies will replace fiat money in the end, as they are faster, better and more convenient than all the earlier forms of currency."
When Lauren Segal receives a call from her husband one wintry morning in 2014, the furthest thing from her mind is her biopsy results. For two years she’s been living a cancer-free existence after a double mastectomy that has put her in the clear. The call shatters the foundation of her world – the lump she thought was scar tissue is malignant. Her cancer is back. Cancer: A Love Story is the intimately searing memoir of a four-time cancer survivor. The book magnificently tracks Lauren’s journey to come to terms with the untold challenges of facing the dreaded disease. Forced to face her needle phobia, the author leads the reader into her crumbling world as she confronts the terrors of treatment – from debilitating chemo to nuking radiation. Death is her uninvited companion. But in the midst of her lonely horror, in a quest for deeper meaning, Lauren discovers the unexpected gift of awareness of unanticipated opportunities that cancer presents – to confront her unmasked humanity – her fears, strengths and weaknesses. “Throughout my arduous journey into the world of cancer, I have discovered that proximity to death brings with it a new proximity to life. I have learned that luck and unluck, happiness and distress, hope and despair are tightly coiled into a life well lived.” Lauren’s story removes the enormous stigma that still surrounds breast cancer; it tackles the deep fear surrounding diagnoses and treatment and it encourages us to take control of our health. It ultimately triumphs by showing the reader how a person in any unwanted life situation can come out on the other side. The book also provides vital insights for professionals involved in the care of cancer patients and a hugely informative section on chemo tips for those undergoing treatment.
Told with the immediacy of a diary, which is where the book began, Patrick takes us on a journey to the highest mountain in the world, where one of the greatest tragedies in climbing history was about to unfold. Filled with photographs and sketches from his notebooks we become part of the Radio 702 team sent to cover the South African Everest Expedition of 1996. It would turn out to be the deadliest climbing seasons in the peak’s history. Twenty years later the controversy around what truly happened on the mountain continues to rage. Conroy kept a meticulous diary and recorded many hours of radio communications between the climbers. Now, two decades later, his memoirs reveal a remarkable and untold story of what happened on the mountain that fateful year. Everest Untold includes hidden insights and never before revealed transcripts that shed new light on the 1996 disaster, including the mysterious disappearance of one of the South African team members in the death zone. Conroy’s hidden story reopens the debate on the risks of high-altitude mountaineering and what it meant to a young democratic South Africa unaware of the dangers that lay ahead.
Goeiemôre, mnr Mandela vertel die uitsonderlike verhaal van hoe Zelda la Grange se lewe, oortuigings en vooroordele omvergewerp word deur die grootste staatsman van ons tyd. Dit volg die ongelooflike lewenspad van ’n verskrikte tikster in haar vroeë twintigs wat gekies word as Nelson Mandela se lojaalste steunpilaar en haar loopbaan daaraan wy om reisgenoot en versorger te word van die man wat sy ‘Khulu’ noem. Hierdie boek wentel om liefde en tweede kanse. Dit sal jou lewe raak en jou laat glo elkeen van ons, ongeag wie ons is en wat ons gedoen het, het die mag om te verander.
Die kleur van liefde is ’n verhaal van onreg. Twee mense raak verlief op mekaar, maar dis ’n verbode liefde want die regering van die dag duld nie liefde oor die kleurgrens nie. Dis die sestigerjare, en Suid-Afrika is vasgevang in die knelgreep van Apartheid. Selinah Phaswane raak swanger en beide sy en Paul Mills weet dat dit onmoontlik sal wees om die baba te behou. Op Paul se aandrang vlug Selinah met die pasgebore baba na Lydenburg waar daar ’n groot bruin gemeenskap is. Sy laat haar baba in die sorg van die Nagels, min wetend dat haar kind daar nooit enige liefde of koestering sal ervaar nie.
The Nobel Prize-winning author's brilliant trilogy of fictionalized memoirs--now available in one volume for the first time Few writers have won as much critical acclaim and as many admirers in the literary world as J. M. Coetzee. Yet the celebrated author rarely spoke of himself until the 1997 arrival of "Boyhood," a masterly and evocative tale of a young writer's beginnings. Continuing with the fiercely tender "Youth" and the innovative "Summertime," "Scenes from Provincial Life" is a heartbreaking and often very funny portrait of the artist by one of the world's greatest writers.
“Ek het my mammie sien loop na die hofgebou met ’n hoodie aan en ’n doek oor haar gesig. Sy het byna gelyk soos iemand wat arm is. Mense het haar uitgevloek … Dit het my gebreek. Dit is die vrou wat elke dag daar was vir my, wat middagete vir my en my vriende gemaak het as ons van die skool af kom, en hier is sy nou op televisie en word ’n misdadiger genoem.” Die ontvoering van baba Zephany Nurse uit die kot langs haar ma se hospitaalbed het die hele Suid-Afrika aangegryp. Haar desperate ouers het herhaaldelik gepleit dat sy veilig terugbesorg word, maar daar was geen teken van die baba nie. Vir 17 jaar lank, op haar verjaarsdag, het die Nurse-gesin kerse aangesteek en gehoop en gebid. ’n Klipgooi van die Nurse-gesin af het die 17-jarige Miché Solomon pas met matriek begin. Sy het ’n kêrel gehad en toegewyde ouers. Sy het gedroom oor die matriekafskeid en die rok wat haar ma vir haar sou maak. Sy het nie die vaagste benul gehad dat ’n nuwe meisie in die skool, wat ongelooflik baie soos sy lyk, en ’n DNS-toets haar wêreld tot in sy fondamente sou skud nie. Miché is nou 22. Met verbysterende volwassenheid, eerlikheid en deernis vertel sy hier vir die eerste keer háár storie, in haar eie woorde, oor wat dit beteken om lief te hê en geliefd te wees, en om jou eie identiteit op te eis.
Van laaitie tot politieke kryger, bandiet tot generaal-majoor, ondergrondse operateur tot presidensiële lyfwag… Van sy kleintyd in Elsiesrivier neem Jeremy Vearey se lewe talle onvoorspelbare wendings. Sy eiesoortige vertelling sluit die ouere manne van sy jeug in, die ooms by die damstafel, kerkjeugkampe en die Kommuniste-manifes, skoolhou en ondergrondse werk vir MK, en sy aanhouding op Robbeneiland. As Mandela se lyfwag help hy ’n opstand in die Karoo ontlont, voor hy deel word van die nuwe SAPD, waar hy saam met die gewese vyand terrorisme en Kaapse bendes takel. En onder alles loop ’n donker stroom.
Coach: The Life And Soccer Times Of Clive Barker is the insightful biography of Clive Barker, South Africa’s longest-serving national football coach and arguably the most successful following Bafana Bafana’s win in 1996 at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations. With the help of writer Michael Marnewick, Barker reveals himself as a modest man, a dedicated husband and father, and a force to be reckoned with in the football fraternity, both in Mzansi and in the rest of the continent. Coach examines Barker’s life from his pre-coaching days and how he avoided bankruptcy by driving taxis, to his early coaching jobs at amateur level, into the professional ranks with Durban City, then Bush Bucks, to AmaZulu and ultimately to the position as national coach. Delving back into his early pre-coaching days, the book gives the reader a glimpse of the man himself, while anecdotes from former players, at both club and international level, provide an in-depth but entertaining look into his coaching style and ability. In-between the book explores the politics of the time, including Clive’s opposition to apartheid; his take on witchcraft practices in local football; the success at the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations; and the positive and powerful influence of Nelson Mandela, the national football team’s talisman. Barker’s journey wasn’t always smooth sailing and he had his detractors who felt he was too chummy with his players, who felt he was not technically savvy or tactical enough, or who disagreed with his relaxed but focused methods, which were proven over and again to yield results. What comes across so clearly in this book is the love and respect Barker had for his players and that they, in turn, had for him. He treated them as adults and they never faltered in their desire to please him, although Mark Fish may have crossed the line a few times.
Krish Naidoo practised as a human rights lawyer in Johannesburg in the 1980s. This book records his life, the political trials he was involved in & his activities in sport, culture & the legal fraternity.
Dr. Abraham Lückhoff het as dominee, koerantman en diplomaat op drie vastelande gewerk en so ’n leeftyd se humoristiese staaltjies en stories bymekaargemaak. Hy vertel van sy sorgelose kinderdae op Clanwilliam, die guitige manewales van sy tienerjare op Graaff-Reinet en die snaakse wedervaringe van sy lewe as predikant in Amerika, Mexiko en België.
Tumi Morake modelled her public persona on her mother, a charming and contentious woman who used her big, bold voice to say what others were afraid to utter. It’s the personality that Tumi took on stage in the mostly male space of stand-up comedy, and the one that gave her the courage to join a white, Afrikaans radio station and comment about apartheid on air. But there’s only so much you can find out about Tumi from the stage, the screen and the internet. And Then Mama Said… is the voice of Tumi in private, as well as a behind-the-scenes perspective of a pioneering South African star who has been both deeply loved and viciously hated by her audiences. Tumi gets frank about the race row at Jacaranda FM; the Jaguar car accident that cyber bullies said she deserved; the body-shaming she endured on the set of Our Perfect Wedding; and her tumultuous relationship with her beloved husband. Throughout her story, she carries the voice of her mother, and with it the indispensable life lessons that made her who she is today.
I Remember Nelson Mandela is a collection of remembrances from those who worked with, for and beside Mandela. More than one hundred individuals, from household staff to bodyguards and presidential advisors, have offered their memories, which provide warm, poignant and often humorous insights into what it was like behind the scenes with one of the most revered and beloved political figures the world has seen. ‘Nothing is more important than to be loved by your colleagues.’ – Nelson Mandela, 5 August 2008, addressing the staff of the Nelson Mandela Foundation at a private celebration for his 90th birthday The collection is the dream-child of Mrs Graça Machel who, some months after Nelson Mandela’s passing on 5 December 2013, met with former members of his staff to thank them for their service. Listening to their stories inspired the creation of this, the perfect gift book, providing readers with a glimpse into the man behind the title.
Op 15 Julie 1932 sterf CJ Langenhoven skielik. Dat hy ’n jong Joodse vrou, die vurige rooikop Sarah Eva Goldblatt, as eksekuteur van sy literêre nalatenskap benoem, kom as ’n verrassing. Dominique Malherbe was van kleins af gefassineer deur die familiefluisteringe oor dié groottante van haar en haar verhouding met Langenhoven. Uiteindelik besluit sy om antwoorde te soek oor Saartjie se lewe, haar werk en die raaisel rondom haar babaseun.’n Ongewone en boeiende literêre liefdesverhaal.
What a discovery! In 2014, several years after he moved to Australia, John Coetzee sold his house in Cape Town, unaware that he was leaving behind unique documents from his teenage years. In the attic of his former home, the new owners discovered a forgotten brown suitcase and a large cardboard box, containing a complete photographic archive of old prints and negatives from Coetzee?s childhood never seen before. The photographs in this photobook (taken with what John Coetzee refers to as his ?spy camera?) date back to John?s first two years of high school when the Coetzee family moved from Worcester to Cape Town. The images provide insight into his childhood through his own lens. He shows us his world and the things that interested him most: friends and teachers at school, cricket matches, the surroundings of Cape Town, the family Karoo farm and his home life. His mother Vera, especially, was a favourite subject. The photographs are fascinating due to their imperfections, and because they show young Coetzee?s interest in documenting time and movement in order to capture life itself. At first glance, the photographs appear to depict scenes from everyday rural life in the 1950s, but their playfulness, straightforwardness, and self-awareness ensure that the photos are not merely nostalgic. Every now and then we catch a glimpse of the social reality of Cape Town during the apartheid years. And for the readers of Boyhood the photographs are an intriguing visual chronicle of Coetzee?s life. Although many know him as a serious and philosophical writer, here we also see his playful, boyish side and the search for his own identity. Through Coetzee?s lens we see the fleeting moments from a past which is now captured in the emulsions of his negatives. The book also has an exclusive interview with John Coetzee about his boyhood and photo experiments.
Jonathan Jansen doesn’t regard the achievements he has made in academia and his contributions to public intellectual life as his own – rather, he sees these accomplishments as a product of the hard work and sacrifices of family, friends, teachers, colleagues and mentors around him. Jansen recounts, in his indomitable way, how the people in his life invested love, direction, encouragement (and even money) to make his journey possible – in the hope that his story may give inspiration and direction to generations of young people taking their first steps in adult life.
The death of Neo “Snowy” Mashaba at 55 provokes an intense emotional reaction in his son, Tumiso, the author of this moving portrait of a relationship between a father and son. Tumiso is stunned by his emotional response, as his father was a distant and often brutal presence in his childhood. This launches him down the road of personal investigation of his childhood, but also what it means to him now as a father to his own children. Will he repeat the sins of his father? The author digs deep into his own psychology, providing a deeply satisfying read with well-drawn characters and moments of intense anguish and catharsis. Covering themes of fatherhood, black masculinity, toxic masculinity, generational trauma, infidelity, abuse, and suicide and mental health, Mashaba creates a realistic backdrop of a gritty modern South Africa.
16 years went into the making of the feature film Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, a biopic based on Mandela's bestselling autobiography. Danny Schechter, who has spent 40 years getting to know Mandela, was asked to make a non-fiction documentary about the biopic and this book is his companion to the feature, the documentary, and Mandela's life itself.
In Schechter's words:
In hierdie boek sal jy lees van allerlei uitvinders, planmakers en slimkoppe van Suid-Afrika. Hier is stories oor mense wat mediese deurbrake gemaak het. Stories oor mense wat met diere en plante werk. Stories oor mense wat die geheime van die hemelruim probeer ontrafel. Stories oor mense wat interessante ontdekkings oor fossiele, die aarde, water en die klimaat maak. Dit is voorwaar ’n trots Suid-Afrikaanse boek wat elke leser sal inspireer en motiveer om vrae te vra, te ontdek en te skep.
Jeremy Maggs has been a journalist and a television and radio presenter
for over 30 years, with a front-row seat to major news events in the
run-up to and during the birth of South Africa’s democracy and beyond.
He was also the host of the hugely successful television show, Who
Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and so became a household name.
Written like a thriller in the engaging style of his previous best sellers about the liberation struggle, this book takes up the tale in 2004 when Ronnie Kasrils became Minister of Intelligence, and continues to the present day. Kasrils fought against the lies and abuses of state resources at the cost of his party popularity. His struggle for the truth, for that is what the book is about, covers the tumultuous years that saw Mbeki’s overthrow and replacement by Zuma at the ANC’s Polokwane Conference, the scandal around the Nkandla property, growing militarisation of the police resulting in the Marikana Massacre, the outrageous appointment of flunkies to high office, the present “state capture” report and the unseemly relationship with the Gupta group. The confusion engendered by Zuma has led Kasrils to explain theenigma and contradictions of the man giving rise to the book’s title. But uppermost in his mind is to explain that corruption and the abuse of power does not begin with Zuma. His thesis points to the compromises on the economy going back to Mandela and the negotiations of the 1990s which he refers to as a “Faustian Pact.” Political power but not control of the economy occurred. The latter factor has given rise to the problems of inequality, unemployment, poverty, protest and frustration that besets the country. Kasrils argues that the scandalous corruption and crony capitalism under Zuma is symptomatic of underlying contradictions. Merely replacing Zuma without dealing with the economic factors will not solve the problem and time is running out. Kasrils suggests firm remedies to urgently turn around the situation in the interests of all. A Simple Man: Kasrils And The Zuma Enigma is a gripping page-turner that courageously exposes the intrigues underway and threats to our young democracy. A stark warning rings out of what may face us all if urgent systemic remedies are not taken. |
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